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Chances are if you are reading this, you’re already at least somewhat familiar with a Roth IRA. While the contribution limit will vary over time, in 2019 the limit is $6,000, plus an additional $1,000 catch up contribution for individuals over the age of 50. This limit is per individual, allowing married couples to contribute up to a maximum of $12,000-$14,000 depending on their age. Direct contributions to a Roth IRA also have an income phase-out limit that you’ll need to be aware of, which starts at $122,000 for single filers and $193,000 for joint filers.

What if I told you there was a way to contribute to a Roth IRA well beyond these limits, regardless of your income level? At some employers, you can.

The typical “backdoor Roth IRA” is a strategy for individuals to contribute to a Roth IRA that are over the income phase-out limitation for a direct contribution. This can be beneficial for many people, but still caps your contributions at only $6,000 or $7,000 per year. In some cases, your 401(k) may allow the ability to contribute on an “after-tax” basis, which opens up a world of possibilities for additional Roth contributions.

Roth contributions are contributed on an after-tax basis(meaning no current tax deduction), but earnings grow tax-free as long as you meet all the withdrawal eligibility rules set by the IRS. This means you must be at least age 59 ½ and meet the IRS’ “5 year rule” at the time of withdrawal.

An “after-tax” contribution works similar to a Roth contribution, but the taxation differs slightly. A pure after-tax contribution also provides no current tax deduction, but earnings associated with the money grow only tax-deferred and are later taxable at ordinary income rates upon distribution. As you can see, Roth dollars are generally more valuable than pure after-tax dollars.

The good news is, there is a fairly easy way to convert your pure after-tax dollars into Roth dollars so that all earnings grow tax-free. Once you hit the $19,000(plus $6,000 catch up for individuals over the age of 50) annual limit for your pre-tax and/or Roth contributions into your 401(k), you will want to begin contributing on an after-tax basis.

Pure after-tax contributions are not subject to the typical annual contribution limit of $19,000 or $25,000. Instead, they are capped at an overall 401(k) contribution limit of $56,000 or $62,000. This overall limit includes all of your pre-tax, Roth, employer matching, and after-tax contributions combined. In other words, if you make $100,000 per year and are under the age of 50, your pre-tax/Roth contributions are $19,000, your employer match is $6,000, and your maximum after-tax contributions are $31,000. ($56,000 – 19,000 – 6,000 match = $31,000 of remaining after-tax contribution ability). This additional $31,000 could then be rolled into a Roth IRA, allowing for the “mega backdoor Roth” contribution. This means you can potentially get up to $37,000 per year into a Roth IRA!

There is one caveat to this however. When you convert your after-tax contributions to a Roth IRA, any earnings that are associated with the after-tax contributions that enter the Roth IRA will be taxable. If you contributed $10,000 after-tax and that money has since grown to $12,000, you will pay tax on the $2,000 should you put the full $12,000 into the Roth IRA. This can be circumvented by removing only the pure after-tax contributions(basis) and leaving account earnings in the 401(k) account to grow tax-deferred and be withdrawn at a later date. For this reason, the sooner you can get the money from the after-tax 401(k) to the Roth IRA, the sooner your money will be growing for you tax-free. Once the money is in the Roth IRA, you are open to the entire world of investing beyond what is offered in the 401(k) plan. You have the ability to have the money invested in mutual funds, ETFs, stocks, bonds, and with the oversight of professional management should you choose.

This is a great savings strategy for individuals who are looking to increase the amount of their retirement savings and want to do so in a tax-advantaged way. For individuals who have the excess cash flow and budgetary means of doing so, the “mega backdoor Roth” is a no brainer. While this strategy can be complex, once initially set up the ongoing maintenance is minimal. Warren Street Wealth Advisors is here to assist and facilitate after-tax contributions, conversions to Roth accounts, and the underlying investment management. For individuals looking to take advantage of this huge tax savings opportunity, be sure to contact us for help getting this strategy implemented for your situation. Please bear in mind this strategy is only applicable to individuals who are already maximizing their current pre-tax or Roth contributions in the 401(k).

If you have any questions on the strategy or investments and tax planning in general, be sure to reach out and contact us as we are happy to help. As with nearly everything financial planning, specific rules and details will need to be implemented on a case by case basis, so be sure to contact us with the specifics of your case.

Justin D. Rucci, CFP®

Wealth Advisor

Warren Street Wealth Advisors

Justin D. Rucci, CFP® is an Investment Advisor Representative, Warren Street Wealth Advisors, a Registered Investment Advisor. Investing involves the risk of loss of principal. Justin D. Rucci, CFP® is not a CPA or accountant and the information contained herein is considered for general educational purposes. Please seek a qualified tax opinion or discuss with your financial advisor as nothing in this publication is considered personal actionable advice.

Case Study – Start Retirement on Vacation

Learn how we helped a client retire early, without penalty, move out-of-state, and get their desired income level by constructing a strong financial plan.

When most people think of working with a financial advisor for retirement, people think about investment management strategies. Having someone whom they could trust and feel confident in handling their money. Believe us, having trust and confidence in someone to handle your money correctly is a big piece of the puzzle when choosing an advisor.

However, a good financial advisor brings more to the table than their investment strategy. They should bring some financial planning knowledge that can help you retire smoothly and utilize as much of your retirement benefits as possible, and that is exactly what we want to share in this case study.

We worked with a client who planned on retiring towards the end of the year. They had done a great job saving, had plenty of assets to retire, and they were counting down the days to their December retirement date.

It was hard to not get wrapped up in their excitement because it is such an exhilarating time, but we wanted to make sure we had done all the due diligence on their benefits package. During our research, we learned how their vacation time worked which gave our client an incredible start to
retirement.

At this particular job, vacation time was reset as of the first of the year, so on January 1st, our client earned 6 weeks of paid vacation time. If you retire with vacation days left over, then you will get paid based off of how much of that time you “accrued”. For example, if you worked 6 months out of the year, then you would be able to get one-half of the unused vacation time paid out.

With our client planning on retiring so close to the new year, we advised them to delay their retirement a couple weeks, take vacation time the first 6 weeks of the new year, and be able to enjoy the full value of the benefit. The client even gets to collect a couple of paychecks to start their retirement.

By doing a bit of digging, we were able to get them more benefit than they had believed available and a great start to retirement. You want an advisor who is competent when it comes to building an investment strategy, but you also want to make sure your advisor is looking into every avenue possible to get you the benefits you have earned.

It would have been easy to tell the client to go ahead and retire, but it’s not about doing what is easy for the client.

It is about doing what is right and in the client’s best interest.

Any investments discussed carry unique risks and should be carefully considered and reviewed by you and your financial professional. Past performance may not be indicative of future results. All investment strategies have the potential for profit or loss. Changes in investment strategies, contributions or withdrawals may materially alter the performance, strategy, and results of your portfolio. Historical performance results for investment indexes and/or categories, generally do not reflect the deduction of transaction and/or custodial charges or the deduction of an investment-management fee, the incurrence of which would have the effect of decreasing historical performance results. Economic factors, market conditions, and investment strategies will affect the performance of any portfolio and there are no assurances that it will match or outperform any particular benchmark. Nothing in this commentary is a solicitation to buy, or sell, any securities, or an attempt to furnish personal investment advice. We may hold securities referenced in the blog and due to the static nature of the content, those securities held may change over time and trades may be contrary to outdated posts.

When a Windfall Comes Your Way

What do you do with big money?

Getting rich quick can be liberating, but it can also be frustrating. Sudden wealth can help you address retirement saving or college funding anxieties, and it may also give you the opportunity to live and work on your terms. On the other hand, you’ll pay more taxes, attract more attention, and maybe even contend with jealousy or envy. You may also deal with grief or stress, as a lump sum may be linked to a death, a divorce, or a pension payout decision.

Windfalls don’t always lead to happy endings. Take the example of Alex and Rhoda Toth, a Florida couple down to their last $25 who hit a lottery jackpot of roughly $13 million in 1990. Their feel-good story ended badly: by 2006, they were bankrupt and facing tax fraud charges. Or Janite Lee, who won $18 million in the Illinois Lottery. Just eight years later, she filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy; she had $700 to her name and owed $2.5 million to creditors. Windfalls don’t necessarily breed “old money” either – without long-range vision, one generation’s wealth may not transfer to the next. The Williams Group, a California-based wealth coaching firm, recently spent years studying the estate transfers of more than 2,000 high net worth households. It found that 70% of the time, the wealth built by one generation failed to successfully migrate to the next. (1,2)

What are some wise steps to take when you receive a windfall? What might you do to keep that money in your life and in your family for years to come?

Keep quiet, if you can. If you aren’t in the spotlight, don’t step into it. Who really needs to know about your newfound wealth besides you and your immediate family? The Internal Revenue Service, the financial professionals who you consult or hire, and your attorney. The list needn’t be much longer, and you may want to limit it at that.

What if you can’t? Winning a lottery prize, selling your company, signing a multiyear deal – when your wealth is publicized, expect friends and strangers to come knocking at your door. Be fair, firm, and friendly – and avoid handling the requests, yourself. One generous handout may risk opening the floodgate to others. Let your financial team review appeals for loans, business proposals, and pipe dreams.

Think in stages. When a big lump sum enhances your financial standing, you need to think about the immediate future, the near future, and the decades ahead. Many people celebrate their good fortune when they receive sudden wealth and live in the moment, only to wonder years later where that moment went.

In the immediate future, an infusion of wealth may give you some tax dilemmas; it may also require you to reconsider existing beneficiary designations on IRAs, retirement plans, and investment accounts and insurance policies. A will, a trust, an existing estate plan – they may need to be revisited. Resist the temptation to try and grow the newly acquired wealth quickly through aggressive investing.

Now, how about the next few years? Think about what financial independence (or greater financial freedom) means to you. How do you want to spend your time? Should you continue in your present career? Should you stick with your business, or sell or transfer ownership? What kinds of near-term possibilities could this open for you? What are the concrete financial steps that could help you defer or reduce taxes in the next few years? How can risk be sensibly managed as some or all the assets are invested?

Looking further ahead, tax efficiency can potentially make an enormous difference for that lump sum. You may end up with considerably more money (or considerably less) decades from now due to asset location and other tax factors.

Welcome the positive financial changes, but don’t change yourself. Remaining true to your morals, ethics, and beliefs will help you stay grounded. Turning to professionals who know how to capably guide that wealth is just as vital.

Justin D. Rucci, CFP®Wealth AdvisorWarren Street Wealth Advisors

Justin D. Rucci is an Investment Advisor Representative of Warren Street Wealth Advisors, a Registered Investment Advisor. The information contained herein does not involve the rendering of personalized investment advice but is limited to the dissemination of general information. A professional advisor should be consulted before implementing any of the strategies or options presented.

This material was prepared by Marketing Pro, Inc. Any investments discussed carry unique risks and should be carefully considered and reviewed by you and your financial professional. Past performance may not be indicative of future results. All investment strategies have the potential for profit or loss. Changes in investment strategies, contributions or withdrawals may materially alter the performance, strategy, and results of your portfolio. Historical performance results for investment indexes and/or categories, generally do not reflect the deduction of transaction and/or custodial charges or the deduction of an investment-management fee, the incurrence of which would have the effect of decreasing historical performance results. Economic factors, market conditions, and investment strategies will affect the performance of any portfolio and there are no assurances that it will match or outperform any particular benchmark. Nothing in this commentary is a solicitation to buy, or sell, any securities, or an attempt to furnish personal investment advice. We may hold securities referenced in the blog and due to the static nature of the content, those securities held may change over time and trades may be contrary to outdated posts.

Blake Street is an Investment Advisor Representative of Warren Street Wealth Advisors, a Registered Investment Advisor. The information contained herein does not involve the rendering of personalized investment advice but is limited to the dissemination of general information. A professional advisor should be consulted before implementing any of the strategies or options presented.

Any investments discussed carry unique risks and should be carefully considered and reviewed by you and your financial professional. Past performance may not be indicative of future results. All investment strategies have the potential for profit or loss. Changes in investment strategies, contributions or withdrawals may materially alter the performance, strategy, and results of your portfolio. Historical performance results for investment indexes and/or categories, generally do not reflect the deduction of transaction and/or custodial charges or the deduction of an investment-management fee, the incurrence of which would have the effect of decreasing historical performance results. Economic factors, market conditions, and investment strategies will affect the performance of any portfolio and there are no assurances that it will match or outperform any particular benchmark. Nothing in this commentary is a solicitation to buy, or sell, any securities, or an attempt to furnish personal investment advice. We may hold securities referenced in the blog and due to the static nature of the content, those securities held may change over time and trades may be contrary to outdated posts.

The Retirement Handbook

Retirement is coming soon, and you should be excited. However, you might have so many questions and concerns about retirement that you’re more nervous than anything else.

We get it.

At Warren Street Wealth Advisors, we’ve helped countless people, from families to business owners, plan for their retirement and reach their financial goals. We put together this Retirement Handbook to help you on your way to a successful retirement.

1. Have a Plan

Nothing else on this list matters if you don’t have a personalized financial plan.

Having a plan not only lays out the destination, but it shows you the steps you need to take along the way. It’s your roadmap to a successful retirement.

2. No Seriously, Have a Plan

Having a plan is half the battle.

You can be tax savvy and an investment genius, but if you don’t have a plan for retirement or any financial goal, chances are you’ll miss the mark.

3. Say “Goodbye” to Debt

Excess debt is the biggest destroyer of retirement dreams.

If you have excess debt, then formulate a plan to eliminate it as soon as possible. It’s not the end of the world, but it might be time to roll up your sleeves and get to work.

Imagine how rewarding it will be once you have freed yourself from excess debt.

4. Budget it Out

Targeting your annual expenses is key to understanding if you have enough money to retire.

It’s no fun to build a budget. We get it.

However, knowing where your money is going on a monthly basis may help you identify where you can save. Get rid of the stuff you hate and keep more of the things you love. Love your bowling league? Keep it. Hate your cable or phone bill? Shop it around or eliminate it all together.

Not sure where to start with your budget? No problem. Download our Retirement Tool Kit and utilize the Budget Template to help get you started.

5. Build Up Emergency Savings

We’re always optimistic about the future, but sometimes life takes surprising and difficult turns. Wise financial planning means being prepared for those situations.

Having cash available can help you through some of these hard times. Maybe the car breaks down or you need to find a new job. Having six months of cash on hand in a savings account can help out and keep you prepared for life’s ups and downs.

6. Save ’til it Hurts.

401(k). 403(b). 457(b). IRA. SEP. Simple. Deferred Comp. Roth.

Max it out.

Are you putting money aside for the long term? Does your employer have a 401(k) program? Do you have a personal investment account you contribute to?

Whatever it is, make sure you continue to think long-term for that beautiful retirement you’ve been dreaming of.

7. Wait Until Full Retirement Age to Take Social Security

There are all kinds of articles out there about what to do about your Social Security. Let us boil it all down: you don’t have to take it at 62!

When we build a financial plan, we calculate all options for optimizing Social Security, no matter how many times we do it, one thing becomes clear every time: it’s usually best to wait until your full retirement age to take Social Security.

There is also plenty of evidence to support wait until age 70 too as the 32% increase in benefit can be worth the wait. It’s ultimately your decision, and we suggest weighing your options before committing to collecting a 25-30% reduced benefit at age 62.

8. Have a Plan

Yep. Said it again.

If you’re not sure where to start with your financial plan, that’s OK. We can help

Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC. is a Registered Investment Advisor. The information posted here represents opinions and is not meant as personal or actionable advice to any individual, corporation, or other entity. Any investments discussed carry unique risks and should be carefully considered and reviewed by you and your financial professional. Nothing in this commentary is a solicitation to buy, or sell, any securities, or an attempt to furnish personal investment advice. We may hold securities referenced in the blog and due to the static nature of content, those securities held may change over time and trades may be contrary to outdated posts.

Blake Street is an Investment Advisor Representative of Warren Street Wealth Advisors, a Registered Investment Advisor. Information contained herein does not involve the rendering of personalized investment advice, but is limited to the dissemination of general information. A professional advisor should be consulted before implementing any of the strategies or options presented.

Any investments discussed carry unique risks and should be carefully considered and reviewed by you and your financial professional. Past performance may not be indicative of future results. All investment strategies have the potential for profit or loss. Changes in investment strategies, contributions or withdrawals may materially alter the performance, strategy, and results of your portfolio. Historical performance results for investment indexes and/or categories, generally do not reflect the deduction of transaction and/or custodial charges or the deduction of an investment-management fee, the incurrence of which would have the effect of decreasing historical performance results.Economic factors, market conditions, and investment strategies will affect the performance of any portfolio and there are no assurances that it will match or outperform any particular benchmark. Nothing in this commentary is a solicitation to buy, or sell, any securities, or an attempt to furnish personal investment advice. We may hold securities referenced in the blog and due to the static nature of content, those securities held may change over time and trades may be contrary to outdated posts.

Case Studies

With each case study, we hope to show the value we deliver to clients through comprehensive financial planning and keeping the client first, always.

People ask us: “what makes Warren Street different?”

We like to mention that we are a true ensemble practice. That means you don’t just get one advisor, you get a team of advisors that each work on their core competency to deliver the best possible client experience.

With the team approach, we can collaborate to deliver the best possible set of answers for our clients when it comes to their financial planning or investment needs.

Every Friday, the team gets together to discuss recent client questions or planning issues, and we present the client, their goal, and the current hurdles in the way, then we discuss them at length to then produce the best possible course of action.

The most important rule of Case Studies is that everything must be in the best interest of the client when it comes to all facets of the financial planning or investment process. From tax implications all the way to behavioral finance, we want to make sure that everything is done with the client’s best interest at the center of it all.

With that, we wanted to start sharing some of our most interesting and technical cases to display what we bring to the table for our clients.

Stay tuned for our first case in the coming week where we tackle maximizing income, Social Security, and managing tax liability for a retired client.

Blake Street is an Investment Advisor Representative of Warren Street Wealth Advisors, a Registered Investment Advisor. Information contained herein does not involve the rendering of personalized investment advice, but is limited to the dissemination of general information. A professional advisor should be consulted before implementing any of the strategies or options presented.

Any investments discussed carry unique risks and should be carefully considered and reviewed by you and your financial professional. Past performance may not be indicative of future results. All investment strategies have the potential for profit or loss. Changes in investment strategies, contributions or withdrawals may materially alter the performance, strategy, and results of your portfolio. Historical performance results for investment indexes and/or categories, generally do not reflect the deduction of transaction and/or custodial charges or the deduction of an investment-management fee, the incurrence of which would have the effect of decreasing historical performance results.Economic factors, market conditions, and investment strategies will affect the performance of any portfolio and there are no assurances that it will match or outperform any particular benchmark. Nothing in this commentary is a solicitation to buy, or sell, any securities, or an attempt to furnish personal investment advice. We may hold securities referenced in the blog and due to the static nature of content, those securities held may change over time and trades may be contrary to outdated posts.

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